Originally Posted by Faronth
AA on US Battleships (and every other battleship) was pathetic early in the war. Most just did not fully understand the threat from aerial bombs. There were exceptions. In the mid-war period US aviator Billy Mitchell sank a WWI surrendered German BB in an airpower demonstration for US brass with a large aerial bomb. The Navy Brass was so upset after having claimed it would be impossible to sink the BB from the air they literally pulled stings to have him court marshaled for it because they deemed he used to large a bomb!
yes, early on US AA was horrendous. Also If i am not mistaken, Billy mitchell hit that captured German BB multiple times, not with a single large yield bomb. The attack was done on a non moving target with no AA firing back and really proved nothing conclusive, which again if i am not mistaken the Navy raised an eyebrow and said so what...
Also if i am not mistaken wasnt he court marshalled for insubordination a few years after these tests?
Originally Posted by Faronth
Also note that RN Swordfish literally made of wood and cloth powered by a hamster wheel put the deadly rudder strike on the brand new Bismark not to mention what they did earlier in the war at the Italian port of Toranto (which Admiral Yamato used as the basis for the later Pearl Harbor attack). The fact that the then modern Bismark could not defeat a few RN Swordfish makes the point. Early war AA was woefully inadequate for the threat.
That hit on the ass end of the Bismark was a 1 in a million shot. It merely disabled the rudder control. It failed to sink the ship, much less do anything else. The air raid on Toranto was Admiral Yamamotos basis for Pearl Harbor, you are correct. However somethign everyone keeps forgetting is once again we are talking about battleship row next to Ford Island. The US Pacific fleet being moored there was a stationary target and that attack was carried out with surprise. So once again the point is completely moot.
Originally Posted by Faronth
It was not until later in the war that the older US battle fleets were equipped with massive AA batteries. Event the Iowa initial AA designs and configurations were nowhere near what they would be come in the later days of the war. The addition of the any of the older US BBs would just have been more target practice for the highly trained and capable Japanese pilots that sank POW and Repulse. FYI a British carrier was scheduled to go with them for air cover but was run aground and tuned back for repairs. The BB’s went anyway. A costly mistake.
The fact that the Iowas were sent to escort the CVs shows their AA batteries were very sinister and effective, and is perhaps one of the many things that prevented massive casualties from the kamikazie attacks. Japanese Pilots were not very well trained compared to the other major powers in the war. The addition of the CV escorting the PoW and the Repulse very well could have turned the outcome, and prevented the loss of both BBs, however would have made itself a target at the same time. Hard ot draw any conclusions
Originally Posted by Faronth
Approaching an Iowa class BB in a plane late ’44 or ’45 was just a just another means of killing your self. Depending on the exact ship they had either 19 or 20 quad mount 40mm Boffers AA (each capable of ~ 140 rds/min, ~ 65 20mm Orklan stations and numerous .50 cal. Not to mention the ten 5” turrets that were capable of being fire controlled in unison to take out any thing in the sky. That is what made the secondary battery so effective in the AA role.
This part is juts pure win, and by your own admission it stands to conclude that had there been an Iowa or a SD or NC class there, it very well could have made a difference due to the massive AA batteries with their highly competant crews
[QUOTE=Faronth]
As for a single bomb taking out a BB, yes the Arizona was hit in a forward magazine and exploded but she was actually hit by several bombs that were in large part defeated by armor.
